If You Played These Video Games As A Kid, You're Probably A Pretty Messed Up Person

Although most of Rare’s games contain some degree of adult content, the vast majority are still intended to be played by children. While titles such as Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie are definitely games that kids could play, the same cannot be said for Conker’s Bad Fur Day. The game features an endless series of filthy jokes and references to things that kids shouldn’t know about. There's a hyper-sexualized sunflower who engages in a series of flings with morally reprehensible bees, as well as a giant boss who is literally made out of poop. Then there are the scenes of extreme violence, such as the one that shows squirrels being dissected while still alive.

The Zelda franchise has never been as cheerful as many of Nintendo’s other properties, but the games usually stay away from anything too bizarre or disturbing. Most entries include standard fantasy tropes and plot lines as Link battles Ganon to save Hyrule. Majora’s Mask is markedly different, as it tells a story that is undeniably tragic. The game begins with Link getting beaten to a pulp, just before the moon comes crashing into Termina. After the hero recovers, there are plenty of sad moments, such as when a monkey is ruthlessly tortured by the Deku King, and the game frequently examines the idea of depression by highlighting characters who seemingly have no purpose or desires. In an effort to prevent the deaths of everyone in Termina, Link repeats the three-day period that precedes the moon's fall several times, and tries his best to help the people in crisis who he encounters along the way. However, whenever the clock runs out, the player is transported back to the beginning of the three-day period, and it's utterly impossible to help everyone in a single cycle. The emotional guilt of this game can easily mess with a child's mind.

The final battle of Earthbound is blood-chilling. The game has plenty of adult-orientated content, but most of it takes the form of harmless remarks or jokes that go over the heads of children. However, the end fight is something entirely different. Based on a murder scene that the designer accidentally witnessed as a child, the atmosphere of the final area is understandably unsettling, especially when combined with disturbing music. Although the graphics now come off as a little simplistic, even modern-day children should probably steer clear of this one.

At first glance, Psychonauts looks a lot like any other children’s platformer. The vibrant levels and goofy looking characters give the impression that it is going to be a good time for the whole family. However, a more careful look at the game's content reveals things that younger players probably shouldn't be exposed to. In the game, the protagonist can enter the minds of his peers and teachers using special psychic powers. This allows the player to examine the horrific psychological traumas that all the characters are repressing. The happy-go-lucky Milla's head is a massive dance party, up until the player discovers a back room that houses her darkest secret. Milla once ran an orphanage, but all that changed when the building caught fire. Deep inside her brain, the player encounters the screaming souls of Milla's children smoldering inside a flaming cage.

Shortly after the original game was released, The Sims became one of the most popular franchises in the world. The titles have not been specifically marketed to children, but most have received mild ratings, which means that they can be purchased by people under the age of 17. The problems with the franchise are never mandated by the games, but arise from the decisions of mischievous players. When placed in the hands of a particularly cruel individual, the games can quickly turn into torture simulators that allow kids to set up elaborate kill rooms that are reminiscent of the Saw franchise. The games have no issue with players placing their Sims in burning buildings, not allowing them to go to the bathroom, or watching them starve to death without food. The Sims basically taught children the best ways to make other people’s lives miserable.

Sonic the Hedgehog has always been considered Sega’s answer to Mario. The character may have had a bit more attitude than the Italian-American plumber, but he is still very much a kid-friendly mascot whose games are marketed specifically to children. Given this, most people would probably expect a spin-off of the series to also be appropriate for youngsters. Unfortunately, Shadow the Hedgehog is far from the squeaky clean platformers that made the Sonic franchise famous. The game features a ton of dark themes, and the hero wields a realistic assault rifle as his primary weapon. There's also a plethora of cursing, which is generally frowned upon by parents.

Viewed from afar, Viva Piñata might look like the quintessential family-friendly game. It has cute little characters, bright, colorful visuals, and even its own TV spin-off that gives each piñata a unique identity. Dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear that no child should ever be made to endure Viva Piñata. To excel at the game, players are practically forced to run a factory farm. One of the most lucrative practices is to breed piñatas, and the best way to rack up those chocolate coins is to have your creatures mating constantly. Making the piñatas' pens as confining as possible pushes them to crank out valuable babies, and maximizes the amount of piñatas a player can have in their garden. If the player hopes to hold onto some of their cuter, smaller piñatas, they have to be prepared to stop advancing in the game, as leveling up requires submission to the laws of nature. Piñatas revel in ripping each other apart, and any attempt to quell this cannibalism bars progress.

Originally released in 1991, Lemmings is one of the first puzzle games to become widely popular after the explosion of Tetris. In the game, players have to get a certain amount of Lemmings across a level, while minimizing casualties brought on by traps and enemies. This adds an element of strategy to the title, but also means that kids are asked to choose which Lemmings to sacrifice and leave for dead in every single level. At the heart of the title is the idea that saving just enough of the creatures to complete a stage constitutes success, but the road to victory is coated in pixilated Lemming blood.

The Kirby franchise has a history of featuring bosses that seem completely out of place with the whimsically cute tone of the series. These final bosses often have bizarre attacks and terrifying appearances, and arguably the most famous example of this is Zero. This boss can only be seen if the player collects every Heart Star in the game. Once its cloak has been dispelled, the giant eyeball begins to shoot blood at the player from wounds that open up within its cornea, and the enemy explodes in a bloody mess when defeated.

Pikmin sees Captain Olimar crash-land on an alien planet. Stranded, he's forced to rely on the help of a sentient race of tiny creatures to repair his ship. It’s a fun and colorful experience that is obviously a kid’s game, but some of Olimar's practices are still quite disturbing. Olimar essentially enslaves the Pikmin to do his bidding; they gather resources for him, kill his enemies, and lay down their lives for him with seemingly no reward. If the player succeeds, Olimar abandons his followers when he escapes their planet to return home. The imagined spin-off game about the decolonized Pikmin's attempts to reconcile with the atrocities their people suffered would almost certainly not go over well with parents.

Most Mario games follow a fairly predictable series of events: Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, and the mustached plumber has to rescue her. The plot isn't that important, as it only serves to provide the player with motivation to traverse a series of platforming levels. However, close analysis of Bowser's intentions carefully reveals a shocking amount of darkness. The villain is trying to force Peach to marry him (and he actually succeeds in Paper Mario) as part of a plot to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. However, it often seems as though Bowser is actually physically attracted to Peach. There have even been references to Bowser's desire to have kids with Peach, which prompts a level of body horror that no child should have to consider.

The Pokémon series is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. While it certainly has plenty of adult fans, it is a property that is marketed almost exclusively at kids; the anime, movies, and toys all try to capture the attention of young audiences. Despite this, the core ideas behind Pokémon are completely bizarre. For starters, the series frequently sends lone 10-year-olds off on dangerous adventures without any adult supervision. If this isn't bad enough, they are expected to capture wild animals, then raise them to do battle. It is clear that the creatures can get hurt, as they frequently need to go to the hospital, and considering how often wild Pokémon flee from battle, it seems as though many would rather not be held inside a tiny ball. Add in the horrifically dark origins of some Pokémon, who actually kidnap children or haunt their dreams, and the games have plenty of opportunities to mess with kids' minds.